AB 1625

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law, the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement (STAKE) Act, prohibits a person from selling or otherwise furnishing tobacco products, as defined, to a person under 21 years of age. Existing law also prohibits the use of tobacco products in county offices of education, on charter school or school district property, or near a playground or youth sports event, as specified. This bill would require the Attorney General to establish and maintain on the Attorney General's internet website a list of tobacco product brand styles that lack a characterizing flavor, as defined. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to require a manufacturer or importer of tobacco products to submit a list of all brand stages of tobacco products they manufacturer or import to the Attorney General. The bill would authorize manufacturers and importers of tobacco products to submit to the Attorney General a list of all brand styles, as defined, of tobacco products that they manufacture or import for sale or distribution in or into California that lack a characterizing flavor. The bill would require a manufacturer or importer that submits a product pursuant to these provisions to, under penalty of perjury, describe each brand style and state that it lacks a characterizing flavor. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Attorney General to determine whether each brand style has a characterizing flavor, as specified. The bill would require any manufacturer or importer that submits a product in this way to, among other things, consent to the jurisdiction of the California courts for the purpose of enforcing these provisions and to appoint an agent for service of process, as specified. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to recover reasonable attorney's fees, investigation costs, and other related costs, against any entity that makes a clearly frivolous submission to the Attorney General for inclusion on the list. The bill would require any money recovered by the Attorney General in an action pursuant to these provisions to be deposited in the Public Rights Law Enforcement Special Fund, as specified. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.